National Press Club

Photos: PFW - Covering Russia - Reporting at the Front Lines

Jeremy Bigwood

May 01, 2025

Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer editor Thomas Nilsen talks to the NPC's ex-president Emily Wilkins while the NPC's Press Freedom Center Bill McCarren and Atle Staalesen look on.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer editor Thomas Nilsen talks to the NPC's ex-president Emily Wilkins while the NPC's Press Freedom Center Bill McCarren and Atle Staalesen look on.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer editor Thomas Nilsen talks to the NPC's ex-president Emily Wilkins while the NPC's Press Freedom Center Bill McCarren and Atle Staalesen look on.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media looks at a map of the Artic with Barents Observer's Thomas Nilsen.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood NPC's Press Freedom Center's William McCarren introduces the Barents Sea panel.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Moderated by Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, this panel featured the editorial team from the Barents Observer, an independent Arctic news outlet reporting on the tense Russia-Norway border region. Editor Thomas Nilsen and Founder Atle Staalesen, and reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely from exile shared their firsthand experiences reporting from Norway.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Moderated by Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, this panel featured the editorial team from the Barents Observer, an independent Arctic news outlet reporting on the tense Russia-Norway border region. Editor Thomas Nilsen and Founder Atle Staalesen, and reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely from exile shared their firsthand experiences reporting from Norway.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer Editor Thomas Nilsen and Founder Atle Staalesen, along with reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely from exile, shared their firsthand experiences reporting on nearby Russia from Norway.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media moderated the event on the Berents Observer.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Moderated by Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, this panel featured the editorial team from the Barents Observer, an independent Arctic news outlet reporting on the tense Russia-Norway border region. Editor Thomas Nilsen, Founder Atle Staalesen,  and reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely from exile, shared their firsthand experiences reporting from Norway.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer Founder Atle Staalesen describes the situation of working in Norway so close to the Russian border.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Barents Observer Founder Atle Staalesen describes the situation of working in Norway so close to the Russian border.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Moderated by Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, this panel featured the editorial team from the Barents Observer, an independent Arctic news outlet reporting on the tense Russia-Norway border region. Editor Thomas Nilsen and Founder Atle Staalesen,  and reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely from exile shared their firsthand experiences reporting from Norway.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood An unidentified member of the audience asks a question of the Berents Observer's team.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood An unidentified member of the audience asks a question of the Berents Observer's team.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Patsy Widakuswara, Voice of America (also lead plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging VOA's closure) asks a question of the Berents Observer's team.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood Viola Gienger asks a question of the Berents Observer's team.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood NPC member Rachel Oswald, CQ Roll Call asks a question of the Berents Observer's team.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bigwood A round of applause for the journalists of the Barents Onserver.

Moderated by Amanda Bennett, former CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, this May 1, 2025 event featured the editorial team from the Barents Observer, an independent Arctic news outlet reporting on the tense Russia-Norway border region. Speakers included Barents Observer founder Atle Staalesen, editor Thomas Nilsen, and reporter Olesia Krivtsova, who joined remotely to share her firsthand experience reporting in exile.